North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times (Tas. : 1899 - 1919), Saturday 21 December 1918, page 5


CORANGAMITE

MR. CIBSON'S EASY WIN. COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE.

MELBOURNE, Friday. — Mr. W. G. Gibson, the Farmers' Union candidate, won the Corangamite seat ^rom Mr. J. H. Scjillin (Official Labor) with 3162 votes to spare. On the finnl count, when Colonel Knox was excluded, 6Q'8 votes went from Knox to Gibson, and 177 from Knox to Seullin. The result is a victory for the Vic

torian Farmers Union. Mr. Gibson was its nominee, and he received the whole-hearted support of this powerful organisation, which is making its influence felt in Federal and State politics. Mr. Gibson is a fanner at Lismore. He spent his youth on the land ; for 13 years he was a country .; storekeeper, and for the past eight years has been farming. This is the first member of the Victorian Farmers' Union fo be elected to the Federal Parliament, although it has one or two members in tho State House. '~' Incidentally, the preferential system of voting, used for the first timo in a Federal contest 'in connection with this election, was brought about largely as ft result of the efforts of the Victorian Farmers' Union, which withdrew its candidate at the Flinders by-election at the eleventh hour, only on the receipt of _ a definite promise from the Prime Minister that this system would be applied to Federal elections;